Special Mention: 'Justajo' by Halar Khoso, Uzair Shah, Mansoor Khoso, Saleem Jamali and Kabir Aftab

Tamseela Mallah and Abdul Qadir find new meaning and new directions to their lives after things come to a halt due to the lockdown
Published August 13, 2020

This film by Halar Khoso, Uzair Shah, Mansoor Khoso, Saleem Jamali and Kabir Aftab was one of the special mentions and won a special prize of Rs60,000 in the Dawn.com and Deutsche Welle video story contest, #ItHappensOnlyinPakistan on the theme #CreativeDistancing.

Schools were closed, and businesses shuttered down following the nationwide lockdown in Pakistan as the number of coronavirus cases started rising in the country.

In this beautifully shot film, watch how Tamseela Mallah and Abdul Qadir find new meaning and new directions to their lives after things come to a halt, giving the message that no pandemic can ever lock the doors on life.


It Happens Only In Pakistan is a nationwide video story contest organised by Dawn.com and Deutsche Welle (DW), Germany's international broadcaster. Inspired by the stories of human generosity and perseverance that emerged during this pandemic, the special Lockdown Edition of the contest launched on the theme of #CreativeDistancing invited filmmakers to share positive stories of how they are creatively coping with the new reality while practicing physical distancing, or how those around them are turning these challenging times into those of opportunity and inspiration.

The contest accepted entries from June 22 and July 28, 2020.